Frantisek Bogar is reigning junior world champion on the sprint distance. He gained his technical skills from riding streetbike around the city – doing steps and jumps, so the urban sprint terrain was perfect conditions. Here is his story. I started with MTBO five years ago, before that I rode amateur XC races and MTB marathons. A few years ago I also started to run Foot-O.
You had some amazing results in 2008. What did you do to reach this level? I trained hard and i tried to visit a lot of races abroad. What is your strengths and weakness in MTB-O? I think, that I'm very good in technical skills. And sometimes, if I'm in a good mood, I have quite good orienteering. What is your favorite terrain? I think either sprint suburban landscape or a high hills with long downhills and technical passages
	What is your favorite distance? It very depends on my current form. Thanks to the basics of X-Country I have pretty good sprint assumptions, but in a good form I am also good at long distances.. What is your best experience with MTB-O? JWOC in sprint, where i won. What does a typical week of training look like? I don´t train in one-week cycles like most of the people do, I train according to my current condition. In the spring I frequently ride on road bike and sometimes I ride on streetbike round the city, steps, jumps, etc. In the season when I have a lot of free time, I prefer doing long trips on mountainbike and going on dirt or freeride in the evening. Off-season I'm trying to do climb and run.
What kind of bike do you ride? Mountainbike, Road bike, 26" Freestyle bike Who do you think will be your biggest rivals in competition in 2009? I think Marek Pospisek, Maciej Gromadka, or Kevin Haselsberger. They are very good.
How is life as a elite MTB-O rider in your country. Do you get financial support and publicity by your orienteering federation? Do you have good training facilities, terrains? It is not excelent but also not terrible. I get something, but it does not make me rich. And training conditions are pretty good here.
Which races do you plan to ride in 2009 and what are your goals for the season? In the 2009 season, I would like to nominate myself in the WOC in Israel, but this is only my dream. Primary, I would certainly like to achieve good success at the JWOC in Denmark. I don't feel any pressure, I am very phlegmatic about these things.